Though right-handed prospect Matt Harvey might be the top choice among Mets fans to take Gee’s spot in the rotation, manager Terry Collins warned that trial by fire wouldn’t exactly be ideal during a playoff chase.

“We’re in the hunt,” Collins said Thursday after his team’s workout in Atlanta. “This isn’t a tryout camp. If the people that see him say, ‘He’s ready, bring him up,’ (then) I’m all for it.”

He did admit, though, that calling up Harvey remains “a remote possibility.”

“I’m not ruling out anything,” he said.

The Mets (46-40) could slot 41-year-old reliever Miguel Batista into the rotation for the time being. If it’s determined Harvey needs more seasoning at Triple-A Buffalo, Chris Schwinden or Jeremy Hefner could get the call.

“The guy that’s here has pitched pretty good when he was starting,” Collins said of Batista. “Pitched pretty darn good, so he might be our first option. And if the determination is that Matt Harvey is the guy, then bring him up.”

Selected seventh overall in the 2010 draft, Harvey is 7-4 in 18 starts with a 3.39 ERA for Buffalo. He’s struck out 102 batters in 98 1/3 innings.